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Yeng Guiao: What a way to sin
May 1993
It was simply a bench-work at its worst. Coach Yeng Guiao was described as the epitome of wrecked tactician in losing “won games” in their best-of-five series against Coney Island.
Already in his third year as brains and owner of a solitary championship trophy, Guiao is a veteran. That was not the case when he threw away Games Two and Three with grave and glaring coaching lapses that spelled his charges loom.
“Parang high school coach. Walang diskarte,” was an insider’s observation. Yeng’s sins:
One: Failure to explore or make use of his supposed deep bench.
Two: Lack of in-play tactics
Three: Short-sightedness in adopting to situations
Four: Inability to instill the point guard’s floor leadership
Those who watched, likewise, will never forget the following blunders:
1. Score tied with 33 seconds left in Game 2. Yeng assigned Al Solis to throw-in instead of a tall man like Jack Tanuan, Terry Saldana or Yoyoy Villamin, which was the most logical option. Result: Nelson Asaytono, recipient of the throw-in, erred.
2. 16 seconds left, Yeng opted to let Solis and Ric-Ric Marata take the last two shots from afar. Both missed forcing an extension. Textbook play states that in the dying seconds of the ballgame and the opponent in penalty situation, the attack should be inside the paint.
3. In Game 3 without Alvin Patrimonio, any coach could have exploited the situation to his advantage. Not Yeng. And he bombed!
“Baka magkatotoo ang sabi nila na mananalo lang ng championship ang team kung kasing galling ni Tony Harris ang import,” a frustrated Swift fanatic expressed.
Third Place Trophy is Swift’s Consolation
By Fidel R. Mangonon III
For the third season in a row, Swift fell short once again of its most cherished PBA dream – the All-Filipino title. But perhaps also for the third straight time, the Mighty Meaties did not end up emptyhanded.
Swift defeated newcomer Sta.Lucia Realty, 121-104, last Friday to wrap up their best-of-five series for third place, three games to one. It was the RFM franchise’s third second runner-up trophy and fifth overall trophy counting their only PBA title in the third conference last year and their second place finish in the All-Filipino of 1991. Certainly not bad for a franchise that is only on its fourth year of existence in the pro league.
Swift handily took the series’ first two games, 126-103 and 130-116, before overconfidence prevented them from a sweep losing Game 3, 101-110.
Last Friday, the Mighty Meaties warmed up during the entire first half before going full throttle in the third quarter. From a slim 50-48 lead at halftime, Swift went on to outscore the Realtors, 34-19, in the third period to virtually seal the outcome of the game and the series as well.
“It was a big consolation for us,” said Swift head coach Yeng Guiao. “For sure we’ll feel better than the loser of the ongoing championship series.” But he could not hide the fact that he was wishing Swift was one of the teams battling it out in the finals. “Parang may kulang pa rin, siyempre. Siguro if we had only gotten the breaks,” he said.
Guiao may have been referring to Coney Island’s 3-0 sweep of them in the semifinals which all but ended another All-Filipino conference for the Mighty Meaties. Before the series, Swift had won its two head-to-head games in this conference against Coney Island only to not even win one game when it mattered most. It seems it was only yesterday when they took that 20-point lead in the second game of that series only to collapse in the end. Then in Game 3 when everything was just falling into place with Coney Island’s key big men exiting one by one, Swift still lost. And Yoyoy Villamin’s words could only tell the most hurting truth. “Sarili namin ang tumalo sa amin,” he was overheard saying then.
Guiao would rather put it under different circumstances, however. He fell short of saying San Miguel Beer and Coney Island really deserve being in the finals. “The two teams are playing well naman in the finals. And kung tutuusin, most people rated us third anyway before the conference started. So I guess we still lived up to their expectations.”
While the thought of waiting another year for another try at the All-Filipino title look somewhat frustrating, Guiao does not seem to be bothered. “Anyway, I’m still in the first year of my current contract as coach of this team. So I still have next year to fulfill my dream of winning the All-Filipino for Swift.”
May 1993
It was simply a bench-work at its worst. Coach Yeng Guiao was described as the epitome of wrecked tactician in losing “won games” in their best-of-five series against Coney Island.
Already in his third year as brains and owner of a solitary championship trophy, Guiao is a veteran. That was not the case when he threw away Games Two and Three with grave and glaring coaching lapses that spelled his charges loom.
“Parang high school coach. Walang diskarte,” was an insider’s observation. Yeng’s sins:
One: Failure to explore or make use of his supposed deep bench.
Two: Lack of in-play tactics
Three: Short-sightedness in adopting to situations
Four: Inability to instill the point guard’s floor leadership
Those who watched, likewise, will never forget the following blunders:
1. Score tied with 33 seconds left in Game 2. Yeng assigned Al Solis to throw-in instead of a tall man like Jack Tanuan, Terry Saldana or Yoyoy Villamin, which was the most logical option. Result: Nelson Asaytono, recipient of the throw-in, erred.
2. 16 seconds left, Yeng opted to let Solis and Ric-Ric Marata take the last two shots from afar. Both missed forcing an extension. Textbook play states that in the dying seconds of the ballgame and the opponent in penalty situation, the attack should be inside the paint.
3. In Game 3 without Alvin Patrimonio, any coach could have exploited the situation to his advantage. Not Yeng. And he bombed!
“Baka magkatotoo ang sabi nila na mananalo lang ng championship ang team kung kasing galling ni Tony Harris ang import,” a frustrated Swift fanatic expressed.
Third Place Trophy is Swift’s Consolation
By Fidel R. Mangonon III
For the third season in a row, Swift fell short once again of its most cherished PBA dream – the All-Filipino title. But perhaps also for the third straight time, the Mighty Meaties did not end up emptyhanded.
Swift defeated newcomer Sta.Lucia Realty, 121-104, last Friday to wrap up their best-of-five series for third place, three games to one. It was the RFM franchise’s third second runner-up trophy and fifth overall trophy counting their only PBA title in the third conference last year and their second place finish in the All-Filipino of 1991. Certainly not bad for a franchise that is only on its fourth year of existence in the pro league.
Swift handily took the series’ first two games, 126-103 and 130-116, before overconfidence prevented them from a sweep losing Game 3, 101-110.
Last Friday, the Mighty Meaties warmed up during the entire first half before going full throttle in the third quarter. From a slim 50-48 lead at halftime, Swift went on to outscore the Realtors, 34-19, in the third period to virtually seal the outcome of the game and the series as well.
“It was a big consolation for us,” said Swift head coach Yeng Guiao. “For sure we’ll feel better than the loser of the ongoing championship series.” But he could not hide the fact that he was wishing Swift was one of the teams battling it out in the finals. “Parang may kulang pa rin, siyempre. Siguro if we had only gotten the breaks,” he said.
Guiao may have been referring to Coney Island’s 3-0 sweep of them in the semifinals which all but ended another All-Filipino conference for the Mighty Meaties. Before the series, Swift had won its two head-to-head games in this conference against Coney Island only to not even win one game when it mattered most. It seems it was only yesterday when they took that 20-point lead in the second game of that series only to collapse in the end. Then in Game 3 when everything was just falling into place with Coney Island’s key big men exiting one by one, Swift still lost. And Yoyoy Villamin’s words could only tell the most hurting truth. “Sarili namin ang tumalo sa amin,” he was overheard saying then.
Guiao would rather put it under different circumstances, however. He fell short of saying San Miguel Beer and Coney Island really deserve being in the finals. “The two teams are playing well naman in the finals. And kung tutuusin, most people rated us third anyway before the conference started. So I guess we still lived up to their expectations.”
While the thought of waiting another year for another try at the All-Filipino title look somewhat frustrating, Guiao does not seem to be bothered. “Anyway, I’m still in the first year of my current contract as coach of this team. So I still have next year to fulfill my dream of winning the All-Filipino for Swift.”
